Eat, Pray, Bali

Ok, so here's the next installment in the global tour: Bali.  In summary, we had a fabulous time.  We rented THE most spectacular villa you've ever seen (think Cribs, then amplify by twenty).  Private pool , and a team of staff on hand to create breakfast every day (oh how I struggled as I groped for the toaster on my first morning back in Dubai!) and generally tend to our every need.  We'd been warned that the weather had been wet and rainy, and were horrified when we landed just after a recent downpour.  The universe, however, was smiling on us, and we were treated to scorching sunshine and blue skies for the whole five days.

We spent those five days doing the usual: relaxing by the pool, reading books, celebrity magazines, eating crisps, and drining g&t's.  We did venture out for a day of exploring to Ubud, a lovely town with ubiquitous temples and tat for sale.  And of course we dragged our sorry selves out for sundowners and scran each night in a variety of beautiful places,  my favourite being this.

We had a fabulous time, and completely relaxed.  Taking four extremely independent, opinionated, dare I say it CONTROL FREAK women and you'd think that you'd have a recipe for disaster.  Far from it.  It was an absolute treat to spend so much quality time with three of my favourite people, setting the world to rights, gossiping, and setting life goals.  So much so that the bright idea (gin-fuelled) of all chipping in and moving to a villa on the palm doesn't seem like such a bad move right now!

My verdict on Bali?  Well, I don't wish to sound ungrateful, it's a lovely place.  BUT.  I'm not quite seeing all the hype.  It's a very long way to go (about ten hours from Dubai, 16 from the UK), is very expensive when you get there (even we, used to paying Dubai prices for wine, baulked at 20 quid for a glass!) and when it comes to beauty - well I think Sri Lanka and parts of India trump it completely - and they're all much cheaper and easier to get to.  It's also VERY touristy (I think Julia Roberts is to blame for the crowds of Americans) even though we were very much of the beaten tourist track.  I'm not sure why anyone would think it was a honeymoon destination.

Anyway, we had a super super time and my itchy feet reamin unscratched.  Next week, I'm off to Jordan.  Egypt in January, Hong Kong in Feb/March.  The world map is slowly being conquered!